2004 Volvo XC90 acceleration problems

Filed Jan 20, 2016 · Acceleration, Electrical · 160,000 miles · WA

I had this problem a few times a year ago and now it has returned. I was driving my car at night in the rain on a two lane freeway when all of a sudden I lost the headlights, dash lights, speedometer, radio, power windows, electric transmission, and much more function of the car. The engine is still running but it seems to almost reset or something then start shutting stuff down. I see on your website someone put this in as a complaint also this is very dangerous you cant see at night the car is hard to drive its obviously this same problem with water getting into the ECM. I read through your information and it seems like volvo knew something was up with ones produced before or after march. It seems like they have been well aware of the problem and still want to charge you $2000 to fix it! People shouldn't have to pay to fix a problem volvo has been well aware of and has had a cheap and easy solution for years. I called my local volvo dealers and not one of them had any information or knowledge of this problem. When volvo has a service notice about this problem and has obviously spent a lot of time looking into it. The problem seems to be really bad when it rains or I use the wipers further leading me to see that it is the same thing in investigation pe-10-025. These are only the people who are complaining to you this seems to be a very common issue that volvo is sweeping under the rug to make a buck. It's disgusting.

Filed Nov 20, 2015 · Acceleration, Electrical · 133,000 miles · WA

This report is about a hazardous situation with our 2004 xc90. The engine shut down without warning on the i5 freeway! The car suddenly lost power and we had to coast to the side in the dark. We were lucky to not get hit! The display showed the following error code: ECM-981a. We are aware of the fact that this problem is not new to the federal safety agency and that you have received several reports on it already. It appears that the problem has to do with the cruise control, and ever since the incident we have been driving the car without engaging it without any problems. The mileage on the car is 138,000 miles. The problem occurred when engaging the cruise control on an uphill slope. We speculate that it might be caused by engaging the cruise control at the same instant as the car shifts down automatically. I talked to a volvo service technician who aid that he had experienced the same problem with his own 2004 xc90 but he was unable to find what had caused it.

Filed Feb 3, 2015 · Acceleration, Electrical · 133,514 miles · OR

Car lost all power and message window read "reduced engine performance". We were traveling in the left lane and had to coast through traffic to the shoulder. There was absolutely no throttle response, so we shut the car off. Upon restarting it, the message disappeared and we were able to continue our trip. It happened again, and we reset it once again. We stopped at the first volvo repair facility we found and had them scan all the computers using the volvo diagnostic equipment. The code they retrieved was ECM-981a. They cleared our computer using the volvo computer, but the problem returned on our return home. We were barely able to get out of the way of a semi barreling upon us! The problem still persists, and I finally went to my computer to find some information on my own. Apparently, this is not so uncommon a problem with these cars. There is already a recall on some of the 2003-2004 s60's and v70's. We have already spent close to $2,000.00 trying to remedy this problem, but that becomes inconsequential if someone gets killed because the issue doesn't get resolved.

Filed Jun 25, 2014 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 152,105 miles · OH

Upon leaving out for the day vehicle hesitated somewhat when I would accelerate on gas pedal. After driving for only 5 mls. Vehicle started sputtering, I thought maybe I should stop and get gas that would solve the problem but no the problem continued and got worse, as long as I was just coasting it was ok, but upon accelerating is when it felt like it was about to stall and there was also fuel smell when accelerating. The sputtering & shaking and rough sound worsen as well. I spoke with an auto repairman and he informed me of the vehicles recalls on fuel system and that it was most definitely what my situation was with my volvo.

Filed Apr 26, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 98,430 miles · CT

I purchased the xc90 dame day once leaving the dealership there was no gas stop to put gas in car once filled up car would get out of park wad stuck there for 15 min tried to take key out would not allow me to called dealer once the car could get to dealer they gave me answers ad I have to pump the brakes and I should b.fine I was scared but had to get home to my town went to work on the 25th of april 2014 was stuck at work for over 30 min terrified im financing the vehicle sine its late I will have to call the dealer and finance in the am cars should not b doin this had the car for two days total nightmare also on dash it says anti skid needs service with a yellow warning symbol also service alarm also showed up what can I do im a single mom now I have a vehicle that I cant drive I need your help they also wouldn't provide a car fax they said they have a safety record but it only shows who owned the car and purchased dates please help if I cant drive I will lose my job and everything I worked hard for I hope to hear from you soon dealerships should not be able to rip of hardworking people thanks [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Sep 20, 2012 · Acceleration, Body · 90,000 miles · WA

The sunroof drain has a design flaw that can cause water to enter the passenger compartment and/or electrical systems. This can present simply as water on the floor boards. But it can also present in more subtle ways with water coming in contact with electrical systems and being drawn throughout the car through copper wires acting as conduit (this effects speaker quality, radio function, cruise control function etc). Most importantly, water can accumulate in the compartment under the front passenger seat that houses the dynamic stability traction control system putting safety at risk. We have experienced this with our xc90 but see many complaints regarding other volvo models. This is a significant safety concern but most concerning because of its subtle nature, slow progression, and prohibitive costs to repair. Many people are driving around with compromised systems and are not yet aware, unable to recognize the cause, or unable to fund the repair.

Filed Aug 28, 2012 · Acceleration, Engine · GA

2004 volvo xc-90. Consumer states problem with crankcase vent *tgw the consumer received a second a opinion and was informed the throttle body needed to be cleaned.

Filed Jun 28, 2012 · Acceleration, Airbags · 71,400 miles · MO

While driving on a 40mph busy road, my cd player display began to flash, then a few seconds later, my SRS air bag service urgent message came on. Everything continued to flash and then all my instruments (speedometer, rev counter, turn signals) all died. Lucky I was passing my dealer who I just bought the car from and able to turn into it. After braking, I could not accelerate the car and had to let the momentum carry me into to the lot. I have had the car for 5 days now. I noticed on the first day that simple things were not quite right, including my mirror button only working half the time as well as my window control. Also my wipers would turn on randomly. This seems to be a very common problem with this year and model car if you read any volvo forums. It seems it has happened to enough people that there should be a recall on the electronics of this car. People's safety are great risk with the failure of these said item in the car.

Filed Jun 17, 2012 · Acceleration, Airbags · 122,500 miles · AZ

Driving from phx to tus at 75 mi out of phx at about 2200hrs. The car completely failed for fraction of a second then resumed normal operation until arriving at destination 10 mi. Later. The second time a week later was traveling to phx at 1800 hrs. 70mi out of tus. The car failed like the first time then a few seconds later did it again reached destination about 15mi. Later. When this happens the lights, radio, windows, dash light and gauges all stop working the mess. Comes on ABS,SRS. Its happened 5 or 6 times now with the worst being yesterday 16 june 2012 . I got off loop 202 and pulled in a parking lot and shut down the car and then attempted to restart 4 times before it restarted. The A/C,windows, lights, gauges,turn signals all failed. The mess. Abs, SRS, check engine came on. I drove about 5 mi to destination. I'm now scared to drive it if the SRS, ABS warning are on are they working? If in an accident will the passengers and driver be protected ?

Filed Jan 30, 2012 · Acceleration, Airbags · 68,000 miles · CA

While driving, the electronic panel all shut down and I got msg regarding brake failure and to stop safely. I was on left-most lane of highway and my signals and hazard lights would not turn on!!! Even my power window would not work so I couldn't open for me to make hand-signals. Lucky my father-in-law next to me had window open so I told him to make motions to surrounding cars for me to change lanes safely. When I was able to stop, I turned off car, turned on again and got SRS airbag urgent msg on panel. Since car started ok but with msg, I took side streets home but it shut off again 2 times. I did same thing (stop/restarted) and made it home. I had my in-laws with me and my 3 young kids when it first happened on 12/23/11. Because of holidays/vacation and since nearest dealer is 20 miles away (an hour drive with traffic) and service department only open on weekdays, we couldn't take to dealer right away. Since it was an airbag message, my husband not too concerned - he wasn't with me when it first happened so I don't think he realized the gravity. He used it few times and 2 wks later, it happened to him. This time when restarted, there was also check engine msg and noticed difficulty steering. He took to dealer, and both technician and manager could not diagnose problem! They just reset to remove the SRS msg and did a software update. We thought/hoped it was fixed but then yesterday the same thing happened (all shut down)! Last night we started checking on-line and found many similar complaints! We are devastated because we love/take care of this car, which we use primarily on weekends and trips. We thought it's safe for our family but now aren't comfortable that taking back to dealer will fix problem. I am very surprised there has been no recall. Something needs to be done because it's only a matter of time before there are fatalities.